Home entertainment system equipment is more and more becoming an integral and significant part of modern living. Historically, one would without much contemplation find a place to put a simple radio, T.V., or stereo system. Now, the proliferation of separate components, such as tuner, preamplifier, power amplifier, DVD player, compact disk player, satellite receiver, digital video recorder, center channel speakers and digital television monitors, and the necessity to properly locate and interconnect selected ones of these components, has made storage and access to these components a necessity.
Inexpensive stands, that require user assembly, often are not well designed with the thought of component size in mind. Venting of the component heat is often poor, and may result in obvious holes and vents which detract from the aesthetic appeal of these stands. Additionally management of the considerable number of cables is typically an afterthought.
Better quality stands have improved appearance but may still not be carefully designed for home entertainment systems. For example fixed shelves do not take into account component size which often requires varying shelf clearance. Furthermore these stands can take a considerable amount of time to assemble. Even assembly for store display of the stand can be an issue as employee labor rates are high and time is often of the essence during new store openings and busy selling seasons. Additionally, consumers often struggle with assembling stands that require many assembly steps and proper orientation of parts.
Shipping costs have also become a major factor in home entertainment system furniture. Fuel costs, container costs, etc have contributed to much higher transport costs. These costs are dependent on box dimensions and overall volume so the more compactly a stand can ship the greater savings that will result.
Accordingly, there is a need for better quality home entertainment system stands which are compact to ship and are easily and quickly assembled by the consumer, delivery person or store personnel, and which allow multiple configurations for the arrangement of home entertainment system components.